2 Kings 18:1-8

Contemporary English Version

King Hezekiah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 29.1,2; 31.1)

18 Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah in the third year of Hoshea's rule in Israel. ² Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled 29 years from Jerusalem. His mother Abi was the daughter of Zechariah.

³ Hezekiah obeyed the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done. ^4 (A) He destroyed the local shrines, then tore down the images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole for worshiping the goddess Asherah. He also smashed the bronze snake Moses had made. The people had named it Nehushtan^[a] and had been offering sacrifices to it.

⁵ Hezekiah trusted the Lord God of Israel. No other king of Judah was like Hezekiah, either before or after him. ⁶ He was completely faithful to the Lord and obeyed the laws the Lord had given to Moses for the people. ⁷ The Lord helped Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. He even rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to be his servant. ⁸ Hezekiah defeated the Philistine towns as far away as Gaza—from the smallest towns to the large, walled cities.